Northwest voyage discovers Japan tsunami debris amid second wave

By JAKE ELLISON, SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF

Published 6:20 pm, Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Gore Point: An oyster buoy and aquaculture float in wrack line from the 2011 Japan tsunami. This debris and more were discovered on a trip organized by the Alaska SeaLife Center and Anchorage Museum.

The group of scientists, conservationists and artists left from Seward, Alaska, and travel 450 nautical miles west from Resurrection Bay along the Kenai Peninsula coast, then crossed the Kennedy Entrance channel to Shuyak and Afognak islands.
Photo: Nicholas Mallos/Ocean Conservancy

Gore Point: An oyster buoy and aquaculture float in wrack line from...

Washington State Marine Debris Task Force photo of the 20-foot boat and the non-native fish and other sea life inside that washed ashore near Long Beach on March 22.
Photo: Allen Pleus, Washington State Department Of Fish And Wildlife

Washington State Marine Debris Task Force photo of the 20-foot boat and the non-native fish and other sea life inside that washed ashore near Long Beach on March 22.
Photo: Allen Pleus, Washington State Department Of Fish And Wildlife

Washington State Marine Debris Task Force photo of the 20-foot boat and the non-native fish and other sea life inside that washed ashore near Long Beach on March 22.
Photo: Allen Pleus, Washington State Department Of Fish And Wildlife

Washington State Marine Debris Task Force photo of the 20-foot boat and the non-native fish and other sea life inside that washed ashore near Long Beach on March 22.
Photo: Allen Pleus, Washington State Department Of Fish And Wildlife

Washington State Marine Debris Task Force photo of the 20-foot boat and the non-native fish and other sea life inside that washed ashore near Long Beach on March 22.
Photo: Allen Pleus, Washington State Department Of Fish And Wildlife

Washington State Marine Debris Task Force photo of the 20-foot boat and the non-native fish and other sea life inside that washed ashore near Long Beach on March 22.
Photo: Allen Pleus, Washington State Department Of Fish And Wildlife

Washington State Marine Debris Task Force photo of the 20-foot boat and the non-native fish and other sea life inside that washed ashore near Long Beach on March 22.
Photo: Allen Pleus, Washington State Department Of Fish And Wildlife

Washington State Marine Debris Task Force photo of the 20-foot boat and the non-native fish and other sea life inside that washed ashore near Long Beach on March 22.
Photo: Allen Pleus, Washington State Department Of Fish And Wildlife

Washington State Marine Debris Task Force photo of the 20-foot boat and the non-native fish and other sea life inside that washed ashore near Long Beach on March 22.
Photo: Allen Pleus, Washington State Department Of Fish And Wildlife

Washington State Marine Debris Task Force photo of the 20-foot boat and the non-native fish and other sea life inside that washed ashore near Long Beach on March 22.
Photo: Allen Pleus, Washington State Department Of Fish And Wildlife

Washington State Marine Debris Task Force photo of the 20-foot boat and the non-native fish and other sea life inside that washed ashore near Long Beach on March 22.
Photo: Allen Pleus, Washington State Department Of Fish And Wildlife

Washington State Marine Debris Task Force photo of the 20-foot boat and the non-native fish and other sea life inside that washed ashore near Long Beach on March 22.
Photo: Allen Pleus, Washington State Department Of Fish And Wildlife

Washington State Marine Debris Task Force photo of the 20-foot boat and the non-native fish and other sea life inside that washed ashore near Long Beach on March 22.
Photo: Allen Pleus, Washington State Department Of Fish And Wildlife

Washington State Marine Debris Task Force photo of the 20-foot boat and the non-native fish and other sea life inside that washed ashore near Long Beach on March 22.
Photo: Allen Pleus, Washington State Department Of Fish And Wildlife

Washington State Marine Debris Task Force photo of the 20-foot boat and the non-native fish and other sea life inside that washed ashore near Long Beach on March 22.
Photo: Allen Pleus, Washington State Department Of Fish And Wildlife

Washington State Marine Debris Task Force photo of the 20-foot boat and the non-native fish and other sea life inside that washed ashore near Long Beach on March 22.
Photo: Allen Pleus, Washington State Department Of Fish And Wildlife

Washington State Marine Debris Task Force photo of the 20-foot boat and the non-native fish and other sea life inside that washed ashore near Long Beach on March 22.
Photo: Allen Pleus, Washington State Department Of Fish And Wildlife

Washington State Marine Debris Task Force photo of the 20-foot boat and the non-native fish and other sea life inside that washed ashore near Long Beach on March 22.
Photo: Allen Pleus, Washington State Department Of Fish And Wildlife

Washington State Marine Debris Task Force photo of the 20-foot boat and the non-native fish and other sea life inside that washed ashore near Long Beach on March 22.
Photo: Allen Pleus, Washington State Department Of Fish And Wildlife

Washington State Marine Debris Task Force photo of the 20-foot boat and the non-native fish and other sea life inside that washed ashore near Long Beach on March 22.
Photo: Allen Pleus, Washington State Department Of Fish And Wildlife

Washington State Marine Debris Task Force photo of the 20-foot boat and the non-native fish and other sea life inside that washed ashore near Long Beach on March 22.
Photo: Allen Pleus, Washington State Department Of Fish And Wildlife

Crews work to dismantle the 180-ton dock from Japan that washed out to sea in the 2011 tsunami. Dock removal began on March 17 and was completed by March 28.
Photo: Courtesy Of The National Park Service

Crews work to dismantle the 180-ton dock from Japan that washed out...

Crews work to dismantle the 180-ton dock from Japan that washed out to sea in the 2011 tsunami. Dock removal began on March 17 and was completed by March 28.
Photo: Courtesy Of The National Park Service

Crews work to dismantle the 180-ton dock from Japan that washed out...

Crews work to dismantle the 180-ton dock from Japan that washed out to sea in the 2011 tsunami. Dock removal began on March 17 and was completed by March 28.
Photo: Courtesy Of The National Park Service

Crews work to dismantle the 180-ton dock from Japan that washed out...

Crews work to dismantle the 180-ton dock from Japan that washed out to sea in the 2011 tsunami. Dock removal began on March 17 and was completed by March 28.
Photo: Courtesy Of The National Park Service

Crews work to dismantle the 180-ton dock from Japan that washed out...

Crews work to dismantle the 180-ton dock from Japan that washed out to sea in the 2011 tsunami. Dock removal began on March 17 and was completed by March 28.
Photo: Courtesy Of The National Park Service

Crews work to dismantle the 180-ton dock from Japan that washed out...

Crews work to dismantle the 180-ton dock from Japan that washed out to sea in the 2011 tsunami. Dock removal began on March 17 and was completed by March 28.
Photo: Courtesy Of The National Park Service

Crews work to dismantle the 180-ton dock from Japan that washed out...

Crews work to dismantle the 180-ton dock from Japan that washed out to sea in the 2011 tsunami. Dock removal began on March 17 and was completed by March 28.
Photo: Courtesy Of The National Park Service

Crews work to dismantle the 180-ton dock from Japan that washed out...

Crews work to dismantle the 180-ton dock from Japan that washed out to sea in the 2011 tsunami. Dock removal began on March 17 and was completed by March 28.
Photo: Courtesy Of The National Park Service

Crews work to dismantle the 180-ton dock from Japan that washed out...

Crews work to dismantle the 180-ton dock from Japan that washed out to sea in the 2011 tsunami. Dock removal began on March 17 and was completed by March 28.
Photo: Courtesy Of The National Park Service

Crews work to dismantle the 180-ton dock from Japan that washed out...

Crews work to dismantle the 180-ton dock from Japan that washed out to sea in the 2011 tsunami. Dock removal began on March 17 and was completed by March 28.
Photo: Courtesy Of The National Park Service

Crews work to dismantle the 180-ton dock from Japan that washed out...

Crews work to dismantle the 180-ton dock from Japan that washed out to sea in the 2011 tsunami. Dock removal began on March 17 and was completed by March 28.
Photo: Courtesy Of The National Park Service

Crews work to dismantle the 180-ton dock from Japan that washed out...

Crews work to dismantle the 180-ton dock from Japan that washed out to sea in the 2011 tsunami. Dock removal began on March 17 and was completed by March 28.
Photo: Courtesy Of The National Park Service

Crews work to dismantle the 180-ton dock from Japan that washed out...

Crews work to dismantle the 180-ton dock from Japan that washed out to sea in the 2011 tsunami. Dock removal began on March 17 and was completed by March 28.
Photo: Courtesy Of The National Park Service

Crews work to dismantle the 180-ton dock from Japan that washed out...

Crews work to dismantle the 180-ton dock from Japan that washed out to sea in the 2011 tsunami. Dock removal began on March 17 and was completed by March 28.
Photo: Courtesy Of The National Park Service

Crews work to dismantle the 180-ton dock from Japan that washed out...

Crews work to dismantle the 180-ton dock from Japan that washed out to sea in the 2011 tsunami. Dock removal began on March 17 and was completed by March 28.
Photo: Courtesy Of The National Park Service

Crews work to dismantle the 180-ton dock from Japan that washed out...

Crews work to dismantle the 180-ton dock from Japan that washed out to sea in the 2011 tsunami. Dock removal began on March 17 and was completed by March 28.
Photo: Courtesy Of The National Park Service

Crews work to dismantle the 180-ton dock from Japan that washed out...

Crews work to dismantle the 180-ton dock from Japan that washed out to sea in the 2011 tsunami. Dock removal began on March 17 and was completed by March 28.
Photo: Courtesy Of The National Park Service

Crews work to dismantle the 180-ton dock from Japan that washed out...

Workers decontaminate algae growth areas on side of the dock discoved on a beach in the Olympic National Park with 30 percent bleach spray.

Workers decontaminate algae growth areas on side of the dock...

This image provided by the U.S. Coast Guard shows a large ocean-drifting dock that washed ashore in an extremely rugged and remote section of coast in the Olympic National Park Tuesday Dec. 18, 2012. It was found between LaPush and the mouth of the Hoh River. The Coast Guard mounted a series of flights to locate the dock after it was spotted adrift in the ocean last Friday by fishermen aboard Fishing Vessel Lady Nancy. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration worked to determine the dock�s trajectory based on the reported location at the time of the sighting. It has not been confirmed whether the dock is a piece of debris from the devastating March 2011 tsunami in Japan. (AP Photo/U.S. Coast Guard)
Photo: Associated Press

This image provided by the U.S. Coast Guard shows a large...

This photo taken Wednesday and supplied by the Oregon Department of Parks and Recreation, shows a large dock that washed ashore early Tuesday on Agate Beach, a mile north of Newport, Ore. The nearly 70-foot-long dock was torn loose from a fishing port in northern Japan by last year's tsunami and drifted across thousands of miles of Pacific Ocean, a Japanese Consulate official said Wednesday.
Photo: Ap

This photo taken Wednesday and supplied by the Oregon Department of...

The dock is big, but hardly the biggest thing that the tsunami brought to the U.S. Remember the ghost ship? Here the Japanese fishing vessel Ryou-un Maru drifts northwest approximately 164 miles southwest of Baranof Island April 4, 2012. The vessel, confirmed to be unmanned, was set adrift in 2011 by the earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Fukushima, Japan. U.S.
Photo: Petty Officer 1st Class Sara Francis

The dock is big, but hardly the biggest thing that the tsunami...

People walk along the beach as waves pound the massive dock that washed ashore on Agate Beach Wednesday in Newport, Ore. A nearly 70-foot-long dock that floated ashore on an Oregon beach was torn loose from a fishing port in northern Japan by last year's tsunami and drifted across thousands of miles of Pacific Ocean, a Japanese Consulate official said Wednesday.
Photo: Ap

People walk along the beach as waves pound the massive dock that...

The surf pounds against the massive dock that washed ashore on Agate Beach as Sue Odierno, of Salishan, walks pass Wednesday in Newport, Ore. A nearly 70-foot-long dock that floated ashore on an Oregon beach was torn loose from a fishing port in northern Japan by last year's tsunami and drifted across thousands of miles of Pacific Ocean, a Japanese Consulate official said Wednesday.
Photo: Ap

The surf pounds against the massive dock that washed ashore on...

A man looks at the massive dock with Japanese lettering that washed ashore on Agate Beach Wednesday, in Newport, Ore. A nearly 70-foot-long dock that floated ashore on an Oregon beach was torn loose from a fishing port in northern Japan by last year's tsunami and drifted across thousands of miles of Pacific Ocean, a Japanese Consulate official said Wednesday.
Photo: Ap

A man looks at the massive dock with Japanese lettering that washed...

People walk along the beach near the massive dock that washed ashore on Agate Beach Wednesday in Newport, Ore. A nearly 70-foot-long dock that floated ashore on an Oregon beach was torn loose from a fishing port in northern Japan by last year's tsunami and drifted across thousands of miles of Pacific Ocean, a Japanese Consulate official said Wednesday.
Photo: Ap

People walk along the beach near the massive dock that washed...

The surf pounds against the massive dock that washed ashore on Agate Beach Wednesday in Newport, Ore. A nearly 70-foot-long dock that floated ashore on an Oregon beach was torn loose from a fishing port in northern Japan by last year's tsunami and drifted across thousands of miles of Pacific Ocean, a Japanese Consulate official said Wednesday.
Photo: Ap

The surf pounds against the massive dock that washed ashore on...

This photo taken Wednesday and supplied by the Oregon Department of Parks and Recreation, shows a large dock that washed ashore early Tuesday on Agate Beach, a mile north of Newport, Ore. The nearly 70-foot-long dock was torn loose from a fishing port in northern Japan by last year's tsunami and drifted across thousands of miles of Pacific Ocean, a Japanese Consulate official said Wednesday.
Photo: Ap

This photo taken Wednesday and supplied by the Oregon Department of...

A large dock is washed ashore off Newport, Oregon's Agate Beach on Tuesday. State parks officials say a metal plate with Japanese writing has been found attached to the dock, raising speculation it might be debris from last year's tsunami in Japan. Oregon parks spokesman Chris Havel said Wednesday a photo of the plate was emailed to the Japanese consulate in Seattle for review. (AP Photo/The Oregonian, Lori Tobias)
Photo: Ap

A large dock is washed ashore off Newport, Oregon's Agate Beach on...

Scientists from OSU and BLM agents inspect a massive dock with Japanese lettering that washed ashore on Agate Beach on Wednesday a mile north of Newport, Ore. Evidence is mounting that the nearly 70-foot floating dock that washed ashore came from an area of Japan devastated by last year's tsunami. (AP Photo/The Oregonian, Thomas Boyd)
Photo: Ap

Scientists from OSU and BLM agents inspect a massive dock with...

Scientists from OSU and BLM agents inspect a massive dock with Japanese lettering that washed ashore on Agate Beach on Wednesday a mile north of Newport, Ore. Evidence is mounting that the nearly 70-foot floating dock that washed ashore came from an area of Japan devastated by last year's tsunami. (AP Photo/The Oregonian, Thomas Boyd)
Photo: Ap

Scientists from OSU and BLM agents inspect a massive dock with...

Yaquina Head Lighthouse is shown near where a massive dock washed ashore on Agate Beach Wednesday in Newport, Ore. A nearly 70-foot-long dock that floated ashore on an Oregon beach was torn loose from a fishing port in northern Japan by last year's tsunami and drifted across thousands of miles of Pacific Ocean, a Japanese Consulate official said Wednesday.
Photo: Ap

Yaquina Head Lighthouse is shown near where a massive dock washed...

This photo taken Wednesday and supplied by the Oregon Department of Parks and Recreation, shows the metal plaque from a large dock that washed ashore early Tuesday on Agate Beach, a mile north of Newport, Ore. The nearly 70-foot-long dock was torn loose from a fishing port in northern Japan by last year's tsunami and drifted across thousands of miles of Pacific Ocean, a Japanese Consulate official said Wednesday.
Photo: Ap

This photo taken Wednesday and supplied by the Oregon Department of...

A woman looks at the massive dock that washed ashore on Agate Beach Wednesday in Newport, Ore. A nearly 70-foot-long dock that floated ashore on an Oregon beach was torn loose from a fishing port in northern Japan by last year's tsunami and drifted across thousands of miles of Pacific Ocean, a Japanese Consulate official said Wednesday.
Photo: Ap

A woman looks at the massive dock that washed ashore on Agate Beach...

Sometimes, you just have to say goodbye to unwanted tsunami debris. The Japanese fishing vessel Ryou-Un Maru sank after receiving significant damage from the Coast Guard Cutter Anancapa crew firing explosive ammunition into it 180 miles west of the Southeast Alaskan coast April 5, 2012. The derelict fishing vessel sank at 6:15 p.m. in 6,000 feet of water.
Photo: USCG

Sometimes, you just have to say goodbye to unwanted tsunami debris....

The Japanese fishing vessel Ryou-Un Maru begins to sink and list to starboard after receiving significant damage from the Coast Guard Cutter Anancapa crew firing explosive ammunition into it 180 miles west of the Southeast Alaskan coast April 5, 2012. The derelict fishing vessel sank at 6:15 p.m. in 6,000 feet of water.

Photo: Petty Officer 2nd Class Brandon Thomas

The Japanese fishing vessel Ryou-Un Maru begins to sink and list to...

The Japanese fishing vessel Ryou-Un Maru sinks in the Gulf of Alaska after receiving significant damage from the Coast Guard Cutter Anancapa crew firing explosive ammunition into it 180 miles west of the Southeast Alaskan coast April 5, 2012. The crew was successful and sank the vessel at 6:15 p.m. in 6,000 feet of water by using explosive ammunition and filling it with water.
Photo: Petty Officer 2nd Class Brandon Thomas

The Japanese fishing vessel Ryou-Un Maru sinks in the Gulf of...

The rusted bottom of the Japanese fishing vessel Ryou-Un Maru is exposed as the vessel sinks in the Gulf of Alaska more than 180 miles southwest of Sitka, Alaska, April 5, 2012. The Coast Guard worked closely with federal, state and local agencies to assess the immediate dangers the vessel presented and determined that sinking the vessel at sea would be the best course of action to help minimize any navigation and environmental threats.
Photo: Petty Officer 2nd Class Brandon Thomas

The rusted bottom of the Japanese fishing vessel Ryou-Un Maru is...

The Japanese fishing vessel Ryou-Un Maru disappears beneath the Gulf of Alaska more than 180 miles southwest of Sitka, Alaska, April 5, 2012. The Coast Guard Cutter Anacapa crew successfully sank the vessel at 6:15 p.m., in 6,000 feet of water, after shooting it multiple rounds of explosive ammunition.
Photo: Petty Officer 2nd Class Brandon Thomas

Aboard the R/V Norseman in early June, a group of scientists, conservationists and artists derparted from Seward, Alaska, and traveled 450 nautical miles west from Resurrection Bay along the Kenai Peninsula coast, then crossed the Kennedy Entrance channel to Shuyak and Afognak islands.

They were looking for debris from the 2011 tsunami that struck Japan and has since been depositing giant docks, boats, buoys, acres of Styrofoam, red plastic jerrycans (some with kerosene still in them) and much more on Northwest beaches.

“The scale and magnitude of the Alaskan landscape as well as the marine debris problem is absolutely striking and it is unlike anywhere else I’ve been in this world,” said Nicholas Mallos, a marine debris specialist with Ocean Conervancy.

Mallos was on the trip organized by the Alaska SeaLife Center and Anchorage Museum as a way to bring together a group of scientists, artists and writers to look at the tsunami debris issue from a nexus of those three disciplines.

“We didn’t actually find it everywhere. It is a global problem, but there are areas that serve as sources and areas that serve as sinks and it’s not that our ocean and coastlines are just blanketed with debris,” he said.

But, he added, “What we were seeing there was not necessarily a 20-year accumulation of debris, it is actually stuff that has just washed in with this winter’s storms. … There’s no question that the tsunami impacted the Alaska coastline. I would say, of the most obvious forms of tsunami debris, Alaska has probably seen the most over the past two years. And last summer, especially, massive quantities of Styrofoam were washing ashore and in some areas (were) 1,000 percent over the historical abundance there.”

The second wave

The crew's voyage took place just as the second wave of debris from the tsunami was expected to start coming ashore. This time those items that were more submerged would be causing the trouble. The higher-profile items that could be more easily blown about by surface winds made up the bulk of debris hitting our shores last year.

“It’s certainly not over,” Mallos said, “and it is certainly a complex system. The ocean is a dynamic place (and what the) models tell us is that this second wave of debris, not a solid mass of debris, but just the second round of debris washing ashore, has been predicted to start accumulating on the West Coast of the United States starting this month and over the next several months.”

Recent big debris

We reported in an earlier story on the debris that, in December, the second of four pieces of a large dock missing from Japan washed ashore on a remote beach in the Olympic National Park. One of the pieces is still missing.

"The dock has been positively identified as being one of four from the Port of Misawa," the Washington Department of Ecology said in January. "In June 2012, a companion Port of Misawa dock washed ashore near Newport, Ore. Another dock landed on an island in Japan."

NOAA has received a couple thousand reports of debris suspected to be from Japan. However, the agency has only confirmed a small number of items as being from Japan as a result of the tsunami.

"While many of these debris objects may fit the profile of tsunami debris, only a few can be traced back to the disaster with 100 percent certainty based on a clear 'fingerprint,' such as a government registration or personal information," the agency says.

Big ocean, big problem

Mallos’ trip wasn’t all grim, sad stories, he said.

“Alaska is one of the most remote coastlines in the world and yet it is not immune to the challenges and problems associated with trash and plastic debris,” he said.

“But with that said, it’s not as though we sailed through an island of trash and plastics the entire time we were out there and, in fact, we didn’t see any floating trash on the water over the duration of our trip and what that says to me is that, while, yes, we certainly have a challenge and we have blemishes on our shorelines and in our oceans, there are still beautiful landscapes out there that we need to be sure we protect.”

And when you head to the beaches this summer, be mindful, he adds.

“Considering the tragedy that was the Japan tsunami and that many of those items that washed ashore were remnants of people’s lives, take a moment or two to examine it and see whether or not the item you are picking up could in fact be a remnant of the tsunami and if so, take the appropriate action.”